About two weeks ago now, Owen gobbled down some green beans. And then he had some more. I facebooked that he set a world record, but we could only estimate the number that he ate. A couple of days later, I made sure to count. We guessed he ate 24 in the previous attempt, so I laid out 25 for him on a plate. After having some of his other dinner, he got to work.
He wasn't that interested at first, but green beans are one of the foods that we have a "fun" way to eat--a typewriter style of chomps. Owen doesn't quite have the direction right--I do it from the side so he can see it go into my mouth, but he goes straight in. But once he got started, he kept going. Joanne captured his record breaking attempt:
So 25 green beans. That is a mighty fine number. THe video ends with Owen refusing #26, but he was just catching his breath. He had a little water, then got back in the groove. We put more on his plate, and as he continued to down them, he started sharing, giving one to Joanne and one to me. He kept the biggest ones for himself.
He finished the night with 36, with the last one being a raw one.
On Tuesday, he topped even that with 38, but I think that deserves an asterisk. He did the green beans first and he had, by my eye, more smaller ones. Still, when I ask people what's a good number of green beans for a toddler to eat (i'm talking about real green beans where you cut off the tips, not the canned cut up stuff), pretty much everyone says four. Nana claims it's hereditary though--apparently my brother and I both ate our beans, even choosing them over cookies, which perplexed my grandfather. If we did the same, I think Owen would pick the beans. But if it was a corn muffin... Well, Owen claims to like only one thing more than corn muffins and that's milk.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Laughter is the Best Medicine
Sometimes when we watch a scary or emotional movie, afterwards I will say, "Now I need a comedy". And we'll pop in a Seinfeld or Arrested Development or whatever comedy we have been watching and it will clear my mind and lift my spirits. After two weeks of being at home and not really watching any tv, I needed a comedy this weekend. Keith seemed to sense this when he put Anchorman in the player without even asking me if I wanted to watch anything.
The first few weeks of having a newborn can be pretty frustrating, and Sophie's homecoming has been no exception. It seems like the dirty diapers and the dishes (from feeding and pumping) are never ending. Sophie almost always wants to be held, which makes getting anything done almost impossible (slings are great, but there are some things you just can't do with the sling, like pump or nap). My two goals for the weekend were to go throw the frisbee and to decide what we are going to do with our backyard. Neither of those happened. I did get out of the house to go to church and grocery shopping. To a lot of people those are annoyances, but when you are pretty much stuck inside the house all the time, just getting out can be relaxing. When I was pregnant I was looking forward to taking Sophie shopping on my maternity leave. But since we rely on the feeding tube (which is portable but a burden) and can't take her to public places, getting out is hard. I did manage to make it out to Keith's league game last week, and will probably go this week. But my thought of perhaps playing in a tournament in early December is dead. I have gotten some exercise, but my legs need a lot more PT before my knee will let me play. Sophie herself is doing ok, but is pretty bothered by gas, a diaper rash, and irritation with her g-tube. She is consistently only taking about half of her feeds from the bottle, with really no improvement since she's been home.
All of this has made me pretty frustrated at times. I have to constantly remind myself of my own advice to new parents: remember that all phases (both good and bad) will end. I tell myself that Sophie will grow up to be a normal, smiley baby in just a few short months. But then sometimes I doubt my own words - what if she needs the g-tube for years? What if she has other developmental issues? I just have to trust that God knows the proper time table for Sophie, which is easier said than done.
In the meantime, I'm going to pop in another DVD while I do some more dishes. I don't think Anchorman helped any of Sophie's ills (I don't think she quite understood the jokes :-) ), but for me it's pretty good medicine.
The first few weeks of having a newborn can be pretty frustrating, and Sophie's homecoming has been no exception. It seems like the dirty diapers and the dishes (from feeding and pumping) are never ending. Sophie almost always wants to be held, which makes getting anything done almost impossible (slings are great, but there are some things you just can't do with the sling, like pump or nap). My two goals for the weekend were to go throw the frisbee and to decide what we are going to do with our backyard. Neither of those happened. I did get out of the house to go to church and grocery shopping. To a lot of people those are annoyances, but when you are pretty much stuck inside the house all the time, just getting out can be relaxing. When I was pregnant I was looking forward to taking Sophie shopping on my maternity leave. But since we rely on the feeding tube (which is portable but a burden) and can't take her to public places, getting out is hard. I did manage to make it out to Keith's league game last week, and will probably go this week. But my thought of perhaps playing in a tournament in early December is dead. I have gotten some exercise, but my legs need a lot more PT before my knee will let me play. Sophie herself is doing ok, but is pretty bothered by gas, a diaper rash, and irritation with her g-tube. She is consistently only taking about half of her feeds from the bottle, with really no improvement since she's been home.
All of this has made me pretty frustrated at times. I have to constantly remind myself of my own advice to new parents: remember that all phases (both good and bad) will end. I tell myself that Sophie will grow up to be a normal, smiley baby in just a few short months. But then sometimes I doubt my own words - what if she needs the g-tube for years? What if she has other developmental issues? I just have to trust that God knows the proper time table for Sophie, which is easier said than done.
In the meantime, I'm going to pop in another DVD while I do some more dishes. I don't think Anchorman helped any of Sophie's ills (I don't think she quite understood the jokes :-) ), but for me it's pretty good medicine.
Friday, October 8, 2010
The Art of Nippling
Yesterday we met with the speech therapist from the hospital to follow up on how Sophie is doing at home. (Speech, you may ask? Yes, apparently "speech" therapy includes nippling for babies.) The therapist has been very happy with how far Sophie has come since she was born. But she encouraged us to not push her to hard to avoid consequences in the future.
Most parents take for granted that their newborn will be able to eat (whether that means breastfeed or bottle) straight out of the womb. Sure, it might take some time to latch on the breast correctly, but the ability to eat is something they are born with, right? Not for premies. As the nurses at the hospital explained, eating is the most complex thing that a baby has to do. They have to coordinate sucking, swallowing, and breathing all at the same time. One of the common misconceptions is that if the baby can suck on a pacifier, then she is alert enough or able to eat. A pacifier only requires sucking and breathing; the swallowing part complicates things.
When Sophie was first learning to nipple, she would suck, suck, suck, suck, suck...swallow...breathe, breathe, breathe. It was a very slow process. She now has learned to suck, suck, swallow, breathe...suck, suck, swallow, breathe. This is what allows babies to down a bottle without taking a break. But Sophie still has some issues during her feedings, especially when she tires of nippling. This is where we as the feeder come in. If the nipple has milk in it, it will drip some out, even if she's not sucking. To help her not choke on it, we put her in a side-line position: she's on her side with her neck in a neutral position. By being on her side, if there is any extraneous drips from the bottle it collects in her cheek, not the back of her throat. We keep her hands in front of her chest so her throat and chest are open and she is relaxed. We also look for cues that she needs a break; if her head pulls back or she stops sucking we are supposed to tilt the bottle slightly so no milk is in it. Then we need to realize when it is time to stop; if she is not alert and rooting it is easier for her to choke.
The therapist explained that it is very important for us to not push Sophie too hard so that eating is a positive experience for her now. If she has a negative experience now, she might not be willing to eat solid foods as readily. She also explained that at 3-4 months, babies lose the reflex to suck when something is put in their mouths, so that is also a pivotal time to make sure nippling goes smoothly.
It's hard not to push her; I'd like to see her nipple all of her feeds so that we can have more "normalcy" (and avoid the hassle of the pump). However, as the nurses always said, Sophie has to decide when she's ready. I'm ready whenever she is. :-)
Most parents take for granted that their newborn will be able to eat (whether that means breastfeed or bottle) straight out of the womb. Sure, it might take some time to latch on the breast correctly, but the ability to eat is something they are born with, right? Not for premies. As the nurses at the hospital explained, eating is the most complex thing that a baby has to do. They have to coordinate sucking, swallowing, and breathing all at the same time. One of the common misconceptions is that if the baby can suck on a pacifier, then she is alert enough or able to eat. A pacifier only requires sucking and breathing; the swallowing part complicates things.
When Sophie was first learning to nipple, she would suck, suck, suck, suck, suck...swallow...breathe, breathe, breathe. It was a very slow process. She now has learned to suck, suck, swallow, breathe...suck, suck, swallow, breathe. This is what allows babies to down a bottle without taking a break. But Sophie still has some issues during her feedings, especially when she tires of nippling. This is where we as the feeder come in. If the nipple has milk in it, it will drip some out, even if she's not sucking. To help her not choke on it, we put her in a side-line position: she's on her side with her neck in a neutral position. By being on her side, if there is any extraneous drips from the bottle it collects in her cheek, not the back of her throat. We keep her hands in front of her chest so her throat and chest are open and she is relaxed. We also look for cues that she needs a break; if her head pulls back or she stops sucking we are supposed to tilt the bottle slightly so no milk is in it. Then we need to realize when it is time to stop; if she is not alert and rooting it is easier for her to choke.
The therapist explained that it is very important for us to not push Sophie too hard so that eating is a positive experience for her now. If she has a negative experience now, she might not be willing to eat solid foods as readily. She also explained that at 3-4 months, babies lose the reflex to suck when something is put in their mouths, so that is also a pivotal time to make sure nippling goes smoothly.
It's hard not to push her; I'd like to see her nipple all of her feeds so that we can have more "normalcy" (and avoid the hassle of the pump). However, as the nurses always said, Sophie has to decide when she's ready. I'm ready whenever she is. :-)
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
The day after a good day
It is 10:04 pm as I start to write this post. Owen is still awake. It appears I disrupted some karmic balance in last night's post about our bed time routine. This morning, at about 7:40 am, he came running into our room--he discovered he could get out of his bed and go where he wants.
So tonight, the "daddy don't go" turned into running after daddy. He's not staying in his bed. He is adamant about going to the our "bigger" bed. We're at about 75 minutes of this now. Joanne subbed in for me about 40 minutes ago. I don't think it's over yet. He's also agitated enough to climb out of his crib, so that's not a threat.
Hmm... maybe I should have went about that differently.
Sophie had a decent day. Not quite as good as yesterday. So consistency is still something she needs to work on. I do think she's getting quite a bit of rest though. We'll see if Owen gets any tonight.
POSTSCRIPT: I subbed back in for Joanne at 10:15. We read some more with him on my lap. Didn't work. I read to him from a chair next to the bed (we have been using the crib as the side rail, so I moved that out of the way). Didn't work. So I gave in and waited for him to go to sleep, which was around 11. I took a little nap myself. I left Owen's room after 1 am. Sophie did her normal somewhat awake/neediness between 2-6 am. Owen, after going to bed two hours later than normal made up for it by waking up 30 minutes earlier than usual. Outstanding.
So tonight, the "daddy don't go" turned into running after daddy. He's not staying in his bed. He is adamant about going to the our "bigger" bed. We're at about 75 minutes of this now. Joanne subbed in for me about 40 minutes ago. I don't think it's over yet. He's also agitated enough to climb out of his crib, so that's not a threat.
Hmm... maybe I should have went about that differently.
Sophie had a decent day. Not quite as good as yesterday. So consistency is still something she needs to work on. I do think she's getting quite a bit of rest though. We'll see if Owen gets any tonight.
POSTSCRIPT: I subbed back in for Joanne at 10:15. We read some more with him on my lap. Didn't work. I read to him from a chair next to the bed (we have been using the crib as the side rail, so I moved that out of the way). Didn't work. So I gave in and waited for him to go to sleep, which was around 11. I took a little nap myself. I left Owen's room after 1 am. Sophie did her normal somewhat awake/neediness between 2-6 am. Owen, after going to bed two hours later than normal made up for it by waking up 30 minutes earlier than usual. Outstanding.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
A Good Day
Today has been a good day for many reasons. First, we had some awesome rain storms today.
The video was taken just after the fiercest part of the first storm. We had 3 total throughout the day. For those of you not in Phoenix, this may not be something noteworthy. But when you only get 7 inches of rain a year, getting 1+ in one day is huge. And there was wind. And lightning. And hail. I was loving it. Sophie, well, she slept through most of it.
[Parts in Blue written by Keith]
But even better than the weather was Sophie's day. Her feed log:
8:30 AM: 60 bottle 20 tube
11:45 AM: 80 bottle
3:30 PM: 15 minutes of breastfeeding
5:30 PM: 50 bottle 30 tube
8:30 PM: 75 bottle 5 tube
That's almost 85% (270 out of 320 prescribed) directly from the bottle (her daytime feeding schedule is set roughly as 80mL at 9, 1, 5 and 9), including two practically complete feeds. I also feel a somewhat vindicated, as I'm not a fan of the 4 hour feed schedule for Sophie. Owen was sub 3 hours for a long time. So her lack of strength might be a lack of energy from too long of a time to since food. I asked Dr. Aaron yesterday about flexibility in the feed because of that thought, so I think a fifth feed (or fourth and a half) may help. Plus, she latched on the breast for about 15 minutes. And actually got a good deal of milk from it, which really is a first. If anything was bad about her feeds today (and especially last night), it was that she spit up a lot of times. I am learning that I need to burp her more often, even when she is getting her milk from the tube.
Sophie also got some good sleep today, which meant that she also had some happy awake times. I used Megan's borrowed Baby K'tan during the rain and before during, and Sophie was very happy in it. After weeks of having a baby whose only awake times were spent crying, those are pretty special. The process of pooping continues to bother her, but tonight she even spent a couple of minutes on the changing table without crying, which might be a first. I remarked that today was a good day--perhaps a real turning point--a ray of sunshine on day that didn't actually have that much. Joanne overheard me telling Sophie this and got a little verklempt.
And Owen is very happy to have his baby sister home. While he seems to have some mom withdrawal, none of that seems directed at Sophie. He is excited to see her when he comes home from school. He asked to hold her again after dinner (which he didn't have much of--never start with dessert (the corn muffin)). He talked to her about the dog on his shirt, the flower on hers. He went to get her favorite car (the Sheriff for some reason we can't figure out). He went to get the letters of her name from the fridge.
After his bath, I brought Sophie up and I had Sophie on my lap and he climbed up, and we started to talking. "Sophie's not going anywhere" in a happy tone, he said. "Sophie's my baby sister! I'm her big brother!"
Then the night got better for me, as I got to put Owen to sleep. As Joanne mentioned, we moved him to a twin bed on the floor about 10 days ago. Now, rather than reading to him while sitting on a chair, we read while laying on the bed. So I read a story or three (Roo's Nature Day is the current favorite), then turn down the light, then we sing Old McDonald--he picks the animals. After I turn off the light he asks me to lay back down with him. Oh, how he snuggles! "Family nap daddy" "Don't go daddy" "Stay here daddy". If I start to get up, he'll grab my shirt or anything to keep me there. And I'd like to stay. It's one thing to have a sleeping toddler/baby on you who finds you comfortable. It's quite another to have them awake and want you there. It's tough to leave because I want to stay, but I know I don't want him to have the expectation that I will stay, as I don't want him to have that as a crutch to go to sleep. So I get up, he cries and asks for me. But when I close the door, he asks for Mommy. He's ready to sleep though, and has generally quite within a minute of leaving.
I didn't get a nap today like I had planned, but I did get some exercise (rowing), a shower (the mothers out there know how special that can be), and some appointments made. AND a blog post done.
That's a good day! :-)
The video was taken just after the fiercest part of the first storm. We had 3 total throughout the day. For those of you not in Phoenix, this may not be something noteworthy. But when you only get 7 inches of rain a year, getting 1+ in one day is huge. And there was wind. And lightning. And hail. I was loving it. Sophie, well, she slept through most of it.
[Parts in Blue written by Keith]
But even better than the weather was Sophie's day. Her feed log:
8:30 AM: 60 bottle 20 tube
11:45 AM: 80 bottle
3:30 PM: 15 minutes of breastfeeding
5:30 PM: 50 bottle 30 tube
8:30 PM: 75 bottle 5 tube
That's almost 85% (270 out of 320 prescribed) directly from the bottle (her daytime feeding schedule is set roughly as 80mL at 9, 1, 5 and 9), including two practically complete feeds. I also feel a somewhat vindicated, as I'm not a fan of the 4 hour feed schedule for Sophie. Owen was sub 3 hours for a long time. So her lack of strength might be a lack of energy from too long of a time to since food. I asked Dr. Aaron yesterday about flexibility in the feed because of that thought, so I think a fifth feed (or fourth and a half) may help. Plus, she latched on the breast for about 15 minutes. And actually got a good deal of milk from it, which really is a first. If anything was bad about her feeds today (and especially last night), it was that she spit up a lot of times. I am learning that I need to burp her more often, even when she is getting her milk from the tube.
Sophie also got some good sleep today, which meant that she also had some happy awake times. I used Megan's borrowed Baby K'tan during the rain and before during, and Sophie was very happy in it. After weeks of having a baby whose only awake times were spent crying, those are pretty special. The process of pooping continues to bother her, but tonight she even spent a couple of minutes on the changing table without crying, which might be a first. I remarked that today was a good day--perhaps a real turning point--a ray of sunshine on day that didn't actually have that much. Joanne overheard me telling Sophie this and got a little verklempt.
And Owen is very happy to have his baby sister home. While he seems to have some mom withdrawal, none of that seems directed at Sophie. He is excited to see her when he comes home from school. He asked to hold her again after dinner (which he didn't have much of--never start with dessert (the corn muffin)). He talked to her about the dog on his shirt, the flower on hers. He went to get her favorite car (the Sheriff for some reason we can't figure out). He went to get the letters of her name from the fridge.
After his bath, I brought Sophie up and I had Sophie on my lap and he climbed up, and we started to talking. "Sophie's not going anywhere" in a happy tone, he said. "Sophie's my baby sister! I'm her big brother!"
Then the night got better for me, as I got to put Owen to sleep. As Joanne mentioned, we moved him to a twin bed on the floor about 10 days ago. Now, rather than reading to him while sitting on a chair, we read while laying on the bed. So I read a story or three (Roo's Nature Day is the current favorite), then turn down the light, then we sing Old McDonald--he picks the animals. After I turn off the light he asks me to lay back down with him. Oh, how he snuggles! "Family nap daddy" "Don't go daddy" "Stay here daddy". If I start to get up, he'll grab my shirt or anything to keep me there. And I'd like to stay. It's one thing to have a sleeping toddler/baby on you who finds you comfortable. It's quite another to have them awake and want you there. It's tough to leave because I want to stay, but I know I don't want him to have the expectation that I will stay, as I don't want him to have that as a crutch to go to sleep. So I get up, he cries and asks for me. But when I close the door, he asks for Mommy. He's ready to sleep though, and has generally quite within a minute of leaving.
I didn't get a nap today like I had planned, but I did get some exercise (rowing), a shower (the mothers out there know how special that can be), and some appointments made. AND a blog post done.
That's a good day! :-)
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Home Sweet Home
Sophie is now home! Which means that we are happy. And tired.
Friday was a very emotional day for me. I was saying goodbye to my "job" for the last 10 weeks, which was both sad and happy. As I've said before, everyone at the NICU was wonderful, and it was a safe haven for Sophie. Saying goodbye to some of the nurses who helped us out and were so friendly to our family was hard. But it is very exciting to bring Sophie home. The best part of leaving was the excitement that Owen showed in bringing Sophie home. He was jumping around with delight. On the ride home he told me to stop crying, and I explained to him that it was a happy cry. Keith and I realized that kids don't have happy cries; I wonder at what point that changes.
Keith's parents took Owen Friday night so that we could focus on Sophie. That was a big help. Our afternoon/evening/morning was spent figuring out feedings, medicines, where to put all the supplies, and trying to get some sleep. Our house is slowly getting cleaned up and organized. Sophie actually did sleep pretty well, but gets rather upset whenever she has a dirty diaper, which is often. We were told to give her a continuous feeding at night - she gets 315ccs over an 8-9 hour time period. I have to add milk to the pump once during the night, but that is much easier than trying to warm up milk when she wakes up hungry. We are still up and down multiple times during the night, making getting enough sleep difficult.
One day time feeding takes a lot of work:
1. Mix up the breast milk with some Neosure to add calories (which you can do ahead of time for the full day's feedings).
2. Put it in the bottle and warm it in hot water.
3. I can try breastfeeding a couple times a day, which usually involves Sophie trying to latch on a couple of times, maybe sucking for a few minutes, and then falling asleep.
4. Then try the bottle, during which I have to look for cues that she needs to stop (not focused or about to choke). She generally takes about half of the bottle before going limp or being too unorganized.
5. Burp (usually a couple times).
6. Then set up the pump, which involves priming, attaching to Sophie, and setting the rate.
7. If she's due for any meds, we do that during her tube feed.
8. Pump myself.
9. Clean everything.
This can easily take 1.5-2 hours total. Compare that to breastfeeding:
1. Breastfeed for approx 30 minutes.
2. Burp.
Ok, so I'm over simplifying breastfeeding (especially to start), but it really is the easiest way to feed once you get the hang of it. We're still getting used to everything, so I'm hoping we get more efficient at the whole process. I really hope that we will be solely breastfeeding some day.
Owen has been wonderful so far. He hasn't really shown any jealousy so far. He has said "Hi Sophie!" to her many times, and brought various toys and books to her. The worst thing that he's done is take her pacifier and put it in his mouth (good thing we have three!).
Today he was playing with the letters on his fridge and I helped him spell out our names:
He doesn't quite have the left to right thing down yet. :-)
We are now a family of four. I can't help but look back at the fun I've had with my brother and our family growing up, camping, sailing, swimming, etc. And although things are a bit tough and tiresome right now, I know that one day we will be making our own family memories. And that makes me cry. A happy cry.
Friday was a very emotional day for me. I was saying goodbye to my "job" for the last 10 weeks, which was both sad and happy. As I've said before, everyone at the NICU was wonderful, and it was a safe haven for Sophie. Saying goodbye to some of the nurses who helped us out and were so friendly to our family was hard. But it is very exciting to bring Sophie home. The best part of leaving was the excitement that Owen showed in bringing Sophie home. He was jumping around with delight. On the ride home he told me to stop crying, and I explained to him that it was a happy cry. Keith and I realized that kids don't have happy cries; I wonder at what point that changes.
Keith's parents took Owen Friday night so that we could focus on Sophie. That was a big help. Our afternoon/evening/morning was spent figuring out feedings, medicines, where to put all the supplies, and trying to get some sleep. Our house is slowly getting cleaned up and organized. Sophie actually did sleep pretty well, but gets rather upset whenever she has a dirty diaper, which is often. We were told to give her a continuous feeding at night - she gets 315ccs over an 8-9 hour time period. I have to add milk to the pump once during the night, but that is much easier than trying to warm up milk when she wakes up hungry. We are still up and down multiple times during the night, making getting enough sleep difficult.
One day time feeding takes a lot of work:
1. Mix up the breast milk with some Neosure to add calories (which you can do ahead of time for the full day's feedings).
2. Put it in the bottle and warm it in hot water.
3. I can try breastfeeding a couple times a day, which usually involves Sophie trying to latch on a couple of times, maybe sucking for a few minutes, and then falling asleep.
4. Then try the bottle, during which I have to look for cues that she needs to stop (not focused or about to choke). She generally takes about half of the bottle before going limp or being too unorganized.
5. Burp (usually a couple times).
6. Then set up the pump, which involves priming, attaching to Sophie, and setting the rate.
7. If she's due for any meds, we do that during her tube feed.
8. Pump myself.
9. Clean everything.
This can easily take 1.5-2 hours total. Compare that to breastfeeding:
1. Breastfeed for approx 30 minutes.
2. Burp.
Ok, so I'm over simplifying breastfeeding (especially to start), but it really is the easiest way to feed once you get the hang of it. We're still getting used to everything, so I'm hoping we get more efficient at the whole process. I really hope that we will be solely breastfeeding some day.
Owen has been wonderful so far. He hasn't really shown any jealousy so far. He has said "Hi Sophie!" to her many times, and brought various toys and books to her. The worst thing that he's done is take her pacifier and put it in his mouth (good thing we have three!).
 |
| From Sophie comes home |
Today he was playing with the letters on his fridge and I helped him spell out our names:
 |
| From Sophie comes home |
We are now a family of four. I can't help but look back at the fun I've had with my brother and our family growing up, camping, sailing, swimming, etc. And although things are a bit tough and tiresome right now, I know that one day we will be making our own family memories. And that makes me cry. A happy cry.
 |
| From Sophie comes home |
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